Bringing some shocking pranks to the Cultivation World

[Intruding Destiny Line: Fellow Daoist, I assist you in Becoming Immortal]

[After your stirring actions, the Snake Spirit, who originally wanted to find the Immortal Seed from you, has changed her mind. She now believes that letting you go through the seven trials of the Immortal Seed and snatching your hard-earned fruits of labor just as you're about to ascend is what she ought to do. Consequently, the Scorpion Spirit, whose original goal was to destroy everything in one fell swoop, has now become your loyal follower]

[Before the seven trials are completed, the Scorpion Spirit will treat you even more dearly than her own father. How to utilize this, how to act, will be up to you]

Zhou Li continued to follow the group along the Little Dao with a light swipe of his finger over the Eight Trigrams Fate Spinner. Their carriage from Gaoma had dissolved just ten miles out of Zongmu Town due to the meddling of the Demon Monk, forcing Zhou Li and the others to rely on their legs to head towards Beiliang City.

At this point, one might wonder, if they're just ten miles out from Zongmu Town, why not turn back to Zongmu Town and wait for the next Gaoma carriage?

In fact, Zhou Li and Lord Qianhu had considered this issue from the beginning, but they quickly dismissed the idea.

The Gaoma carriages of Da Ming are not as ubiquitous as the high-speed rail in the real world. In fact, the coverage rate of Gaoma stations is quite sparse, and within a hundred miles around, apart from Shangjing City, there is only Zongmu Town that has a Gaoma station.

Thus, the number of Gaoma carriages passing through this small place, Zongmu Town, is extremely scarce, running just once a week. And the carriage that they had burned was the only one for that week. To wait for the next one would mean another week's delay.

So, Zhou Li and his companions calculated: they were less than three hundred miles from Beiliang now; relying solely on foot, it would take them just three days to reach Beiliang. After weighing the pros and cons, Zhou Li and the others chose to walk directly to Beiliang. After all, everyone was either a Spirit Qi Master or a member of the Jinyiwei—what difficulty could a bit of walking pose?

That day, after a short rest, the group hit the road again. The north was barren, mostly Gobi deserts, and largely uninhabited, making it particularly difficult to buy horses or stock up on food. But fortunately, Zhou Li was resourceful and had a wealth of wilderness survival skills, which saved the group from the plight of going hungry.

However, soon after, another problem arose due to the heroic sacrifice of Zhou Li's previous set of clothes.

They were lost.

After crossing a swath of Gobi, Zhou Li gazed at the four or five dirt roads ahead. After confirming that no one had brought a map and that his own map had gone up to the heavens with his clothes, he fell into deep thought.

What to do?

"We should take this road,"

suggested Lord Qianhu, who stood with his arms crossed. "I've been to Beiliang before and remember it should be the road furthest to the right."

"Then let's follow Lord Qianhu's lead,"

Zhou Li did not doubt the suggestion. After all, Lord Qianhu could now be considered the monster in this world with the least ill will towards him. Zhou Li reckoned that if Lord Qianhu got the way wrong, he would probably sever his own meridians to apologize to Zhou Li.

Guo Lingyun and Tang Wan made no comments about Lord Qianhu's directions—one harboring ulterior motives and remaining silent, the other with roving eyes, appearing foolishly talkative in their chats aside from Zhou Li. As such, the group quickly proceeded along the road pointed out by Lord Qianhu.

About a Shichen later, the group entered a forest-lined path. Another half a Shichen passed, and Zhou Li and his companions found themselves still not out of the woods. Just as Zhou Li began to doubt whether Lao Deng, Lord Qianhu, was becoming senile and misremembering the path, the road ahead suddenly cleared, and a small, compact village appeared before everyone.

"Hmm?"

At the sight of the village, Lord Qianhu abruptly halted, his expression frozen for a moment. Zhou Li, sensing something amiss, asked, "My Lord, have you discovered something?"

"This..."

Furrowing his brows, Qianhu spoke with some hesitation, "This place, I remember there's no one living here."

"Is that so?"

Zhou Li was stunned for a moment, then turned back to take a closer look at the village, only to see chickens crowing and dogs barking non-stop, with cooking smoke brushing the skies and birds flying into the clouds. It looked every bit like a village teeming with life.

"Could you have remembered it wrong?"

"Perhaps I really did remember it incorrectly?"

Qianhu was a bit uncertain. After all, he was very familiar with this area. He had extorted everyone who was worth extorting, clearly knowing which places were inhabited and which were not. But under Zhou Li's questioning, he too began to doubt whether he had extorted too many and his memory had become muddled.

The others didn't have much suspicion either. After all, the presence of a village was good news—who would choose charcoal-roasted scorpions over freshly cooked pork? Therefore, the group quickly set out toward the village.

The location of the village was quite peculiar. Water surrounded it on three sides, a river about ten zhang wide encircling the village, with only two stone bridges and a floating wooden bridge providing access. On the side where there was no river, a towering peak stood silently, reaching into the clouds.

Surrounded by water on three sides and mountains on one, this layout spelled a deadly trap in geomancy, but inexplicably a village existed here. Zhou Li and the others didn't think too much about it; they crossed the stone bridge and entered the village.

The village had streets lined with shops, eateries, and even a moderately-sized inn located at the village entrance. The presence of such comprehensive facilities in such a remote location surprised Zhou Li. But as they stepped into the village, Zhou Li suddenly noticed something odd.

"There seems to be no one in this village...?"

Indeed, the village had intersecting paths and neatly arranged houses. Pots and bowls for cooking, stacked fishing baskets, and various other signs of life abounded, yet there was not a single person to be found. Zhou Li looked at a shop nearby; the pipe on the counter was still smoldering, still warm, but there was no one behind the counter.

This eerie yet peaceful scene sent a chill through everyone's hearts, and Guo Lingyun's hand even went to rest on the hilt of his long sword at his waist. Zhou Li's right hand hung by his side while he sidled towards the shop with slow steps.

"This is dangerous. I should be the one to do it."

Before Zhou Li could get closer to the shop, the Scorpion Spirit stepped in front of him unwaveringly, drawing his knife, resolutely walking towards the shop. His loyalty was written so plainly on his face that even Zhou Li was taken aback, not to mention the rich expression on Tang Wan's face nearby.

"Our Lord Qianhu, that's just how he is..."

Clenching his teeth, Guo Lingyun rubbed his temple and said with a grave voice, "He always puts others before himself."

Ignoring the three people behind him, Lord Qianhu at that moment summoned his Demon Qi, but his hands were also covered with the elite Dragon Tiger Qi. Taking short steps, he approached the shop, then gently lifted the shop's curtain with the hilt of his knife and peeked inside.

"No one."

Turning around, Lord Qianhu shook his head at Zhou Li and the others, his expression grave as he said, "But there's a pot with food still cooking, it looks as if people have just left."

No sooner had Qianhu spoken than Zhou Li suddenly felt a severe pain in his lower abdomen. Yet before he could cry out in pain, a rush of warmth passed his waist and quickly entered his mouth. At the same time, a deafening sound reached Zhou Li's ears from the far horizon.

The First Challenge: A pressure greater than a thousand pounds, not as tempting as gold and silver